The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Police in Lari Sub-County have intercepted a tanker carrying 10,000 litres of a substance suspected to be industrial ethanol along the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway.
Authorities suspect the consignment may have been headed to an illicit alcohol manufacturing operation in Nairobi.
Three people who were travelling in the tanker were arrested and are expected to assist detectives in establishing where the consignment came from and its intended destination.
Kiambu County Commissioner George Matundura said samples of the substance had been sent to the Government Chemist for testing to determine whether it is indeed industrial ethanol.
Matundura said that if the consignment had reached its destination and been used in the production of second-generation alcoholic beverages, it could have resulted in products worth an estimated Sh28 million on the street.
In a related development, Kiambu County Police Commander Kennedy Samani has directed police to set up roadblocks along key routes leading into the county.
The checkpoints will allow officers to inspect vehicles and strengthen efforts to stop the movement of illicit substances through Kiambu.
Police said the tanker had been made to resemble a fuel transport vehicle, raising concerns about the methods allegedly being used to conceal and move substances suspected to be intended for illegal alcohol production.
